Certain extracurricular activities at a senior citizen housing complex in Englewood, N.J., came to a halt following the arrest of three people in a drug and prostitution sting, NorthJersey.com reported on Monday.

After police received complaints about vagrants, drunks and addicts invading the Vincente K. Tibbs Senior Citizen Building, an elderly man and woman were arrested for allegedly using cocaine and running a prostitution ring.

The suspects and their supposed accomplice are reportedly responsible for creating an uncomfortable atmosphere in the building, leaving residents afraid to come out of their apartments, authorities said.

“Essentially, they were prisoners in their own building,” Chief Arthur O’Keefe was quoted as saying. “I wasn’t going to allow that to continue.”

In late April, James Parham, 75, and his neighbor Cheryl Chaney, 66, were arrested on possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a drug nuisance charges. Their alleged partner, Selma McDuffie, 54, who is a crossing guard, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after authorities found her with a crack pipe.

Parham admitted he was responsible for providing younger tenants in the building with prostitutes, most of whom were said to have had crack cocaine addictions, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell told NorthJersey.com.

Before moving into the building, Maria Iwano, the Englewood Housing Authority’s executive director, said there wasn’t any reason to bar Parham and Chaney from moving into the complex.

“They came up absolutely clean,” she said. “They had nothing to prevent us from putting them in the building.”

Police were soon sent to investigate the rest of the building to discover if any other illegal activities were taking place, but they didn’t find anything. “It’s really just a few bad apples,” Torell told the new site about Parham and Chaney.

Police are now stationed in the building at all times. “Things are getting better,” resident James Harrison told NorthJersey.com. “Druggies and drunks, that’s what used to be here, all day long, day and night.”

New Jersey Medicine